Seminars

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Dissolved Aluminium (dAl) has been recognized as a valuable tracer of atmospheric (dust) deposition as well as the riverine input at the surface waters, displaying surface anomalies and relatively low values in deep/bottom waters (Measures and Vink, 2000; Grand et al., 2015). In the Arctic Ocean, the extensive sea ice coverage typically maintains low surface dAl levels by obstructing direct atmospheric deposition. However, the melting of "dirty" ice may introduce entrained sediments into the surface water, potentially influencing dAl concentrations (Measures, 1999). Moreover, dAl concentrations in the Arctic tend to increase with depth, suggesting potential sources from the sediment/water interface in deep/bottom water, as discussed by Measures and Hatta (2021). The variations in dAl values serve as valuable indicators of weathering processes along the sediment/water interface. In this talk, I will present recent findings from Arctic research along the shelf slopes, utilizing a new analytical technique developed during Arctic cruises aboard the R/V Mirai.

Dr. Mariko Hatta

Arctic Oceanographic Researcher at the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC)

I am an Arctic oceanographic researcher at the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC). My research focuses on understanding ocean conditions by using micronutrients and trace elements as tracers and developing novel analytical methodologies for oceanographic studies.

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Currently nearly 90% of the heat generated by human-caused climate change is being absorbed by the ocean. But the long-term ability of the ocean to store heat is uncertain. Here I look at a time period three million years ago that is often used as an analog for future climate change because atmospheric carbon dioxide levels are similar to today. Using past climate reconstructions from marine sediment we find the upper ocean temperature and heat content was high three million years ago relative to today. However, few of the climate models used to simulate climate in the past (and the future) are able to match the past climate reconstructions. The climate models that best match the past climate reconstructions have enhanced polar amplification.

Dr. Heather Ford

Reader in Paleoceanography at Queen Mary University of London

Dr. Heather Ford received her Ph.D. at the University of California, Santa Cruz, where she studied paleoceanography of the tropical Pacific. During her postdoctoral position at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in New York, she researched deep ocean circulation during the mid-Pleistocene Transition. She then moved to University of Cambridge as a Natural Environment Research Council Independent Research Fellow focusing on deep ocean circulation during the warm Pliocene. At Queen Mary University of London, she continues to explore the surface to deep ocean conditions of the last few million years. She’s excited to join MLML during her sabbatical as a visiting scientist.

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Small bodies in cold water: Harbour porpoises energetics and effects of vessel noise disturbance

Harbour porpoises are one of the smallest marine mammals, facing unique energetic challenges, particularly in cold water habitats. In addition to these challenges, porpoises inhabit coastal waters with some of the highest shipping densities in the world, putting them at risk of cumulative long-term effects at both individual and population levels.

Join this seminar to delve into the world of harbour porpoises. The seminar will explore the biology and ecology of these small cetaceans, highlighting their high metabolic rates and foraging strategies, and how these factors may make porpoises more vulnerable to anthropogenic disturbances. We will then focus on current research on the impact of underwater noise on their behavior and energy balance, revealing how even moderate noise levels can disrupt their energy budget and overall fitness.

Dr. Laia Rojano-Doñate

Assistant Professor at Aarhus University and Visiting Researcher at Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University

Dr. Laia Rojano-Doñate is a behavioural ecophysiologist who applies innovative technologies and analytical methods to tackle the complexities of underwater research. Her research focuses on the physiological adaptations that enable marine mammals to maintain energy balance, as well as their movement and behavioural ecology. She is committed to understanding the physiological and behavioural mechanisms that allow these mammals to thrive in their environment, with the aim of better predicting and mitigating the potential impacts of environmental changes and human disturbances.

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Biodiversity of marine alveolates: examining species diversity and patterns in evolution

Alveolates are a diverse group of microeukaryotic organisms. In this seminar, I will be focusing on the rich diversity of marine alveolates that live together (as symbionts) with other organisms. Symbiosis itself is an interesting concept. These relationships between organisms can be benign (commensal), exhibit a common benefit (mutualism), or to the detriment of one of the partners (parasitism). This symbiotic spectrum has become more interesting with the addition of more modern genomic and proteomics data, highlighting some of the cellular machinery that has been modified to a symbiotic lifestyle. Other interesting concepts that are emerging from molecular data is species diversity and host specific: why are there so many symbiotic alveolates? Why not just have one generalist that is globally distributed? In the seminar I will also talk about some preliminary data on host/species relationships and what this has to do with an intriguing model for addressing parasitic alveolates: marine apicomplexans.

Dr. Kevin Wakeman

Assistant Professor, Hokkaido University

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Unraveling how symbioses and indirect interactions influence biological communities

Ecologists often focus on species interactions to understand populations, but sometimes overlook the diversity of ways species can interact or how the effects of these interactions trickle through biological communities. I will discuss my research exploring how the presence of a species can influence other species and the ecosystems around them, highlighting the importance of symbioses, positive interactions, and indirect effects in structuring communities.

Dr. Gerick Bergsma

Assistant Professor, CSU Monterey Bay

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Ocean Observatories: Open Access to the Open Ocean

Building on the legacy of ship-based oceanographic expeditions, recent technological progress has begun to transform many approaches to ocean research – a shift from expeditionary science to a permanent presence in the ocean. New developments in sensor design, computational speed, communications bandwidth, miniaturization, genomic analyses, high-definition imaging, robotics, and data assimilation, modeling, and visualization techniques continue to open new possibilities for remote scientific inquiry and discovery. One example of this approach is the National Science Foundation-funded Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI), an integrated infrastructure program composed of science-driven platforms and sensor systems that measure physical, chemical, geological, and biological properties and processes from the sub-seafloor to the air-sea interface. The project is delivering real-time and near real-time open-access data within an expandable architecture that can incorporate emerging technical advances in ocean science over its 25-year-plus lifespan. The OOI network was designed to address specific science questions that will lead to a better understanding of our oceans, enhancing our capabilities to address critical issues such as climate change, ecosystem variability, ocean acidification, and carbon cycling.

Dr. Mike Vardaro

Research Scientist, University of Washington

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Shorelines from Space: Measuring California’s Coastal Changes with Satellite Imagery

Dr. Jon Warrick

Research Geologist at USGS

Jonathan Warrick PhD is a Research Geologist at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in Santa Cruz, California. His research focuses on coastal change and the movement of sediment from rivers to the sea. Jon has led efforts to characterize the outcomes of the massive dam removal project on the Elwha River of Washington in collaboration with the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, federal agencies, and several universities. Recently, Dr. Warrick has led the USGS Remote Sensing Coastal Change project, which has collected and interpreted remote sensing data to better understand changes to U.S. coasts from wildfires, floods, landslides, hurricanes, and other storm events. Jon received a Ph.D. from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2002 and has authored or co-authored over 90 peer-reviewed science articles, reports, and book chapters. Dr. Warrick and his work has been featured in multiple media outlets, including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, KQED Forum, Outside Magazine, and the nationally broadcast CBS Evening News, and he was recently featured in the short video entitled "Science of Surfing," developed by the USGS and available on YouTube.

Marine bacterial symbionts: Challenging evolutionary norms and informing conservation

Interactions between organisms, particularly in symbiotic relationships, are a key driver of biological innovation in marine ecosystems. My research leverages advanced sequencing technologies and bioinformatics to examine the dynamics of bacterial symbionts across diverse marine hosts, including sharks, anglerfish, and corals. This work elucidates the evolutionary trajectories and transmission mechanisms of symbiotic bacteria, revealing unique patterns that diverge from those observed in terrestrial symbioses. Furthermore, I investigate the influence of environmental factors on host-associated microbiomes, highlighting their critical role in host health and ecosystem functioning.

Dr. Lydia Baker

Assistant Professor, CSUMB

Dr. Lydia Baker earned their Ph.D. in Oceanography from the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, focusing on diatom-associated bacteria. They completed postdoctoral research at Oregon State and Cornell, studying microbial interactions and symbiosis in anglerfish and coral respectively. Dr. Baker is currently an Assistant Professor at California State University Monterey Bay, where their research covers microbial ecology, symbiont evolution, and their impact on marine ecosystems.

Beyond Symbiosis: Reframing Of The UCYN-A Marine N2-fixing Partnership

Primary endosymbiosis is the biological process which led to the domestication of mitochondria and consequently the evolution of complex life on Earth. It is also responsible for the origin of the two photosynthetic organelles in eukaryotes which gave rise to land plants and many algal lineages. Research into marine microbes has revealed the fourth known occurrence of primary endosymbiosis which resulted in a novel N2-fixing organelle called the nitroplast. Candidatus Atelocyanobacterium thalassa, or UCYN-A, is a metabolically streamlined N2-fixing cyanobacterium previously reported to be an endosymbiont of a marine unicellular alga. Here we show that UCYN-A has been tightly integrated into algal cell architecture and organellar division and that it imports proteins encoded by the algal genome that expand its metabolic capabilities. For instance, UCYN-A biosynthetic pathways previously reported to be incomplete are restored by participation of nuclear-encoded proteins. The eukaryotic cell supports the process of N2-fixation with cytochrome P450 monooxygenases and flavodoxin electron-transfer proteins, and regulates UCYN-A circadian rhythm with cryptochromes. Furthermore, nuclear and nitroplast genomes together encode a vitamin B12 (adenosylcobalamin) biosynthetic pathway which may enable B. bigelowii to avoid B12 deficiency in the marine environment. This new perspective on a key player in the marine nitrogen cycle provides insight into the mechanisms of eukaryotic nitrogen fixation and the transition from symbiont to organelle.

Dr. Tyler Coale

Postdoctoral Researcher, UCSC

Dr. Tyler Coale is a postdoctoral researcher affiliated with UCSC and has previously studied the physiological response of phytoplankton in low iron conditions. Dr. Coale completed a B.S. in Plant Sciences at UCSC and went on to work as a technician in the field of chemical oceanography with Ken Bruland at UCSC and later with Kristen Buck at the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences.

Shaping the Future of California Currents: Insights from Seasonal Forecasts to Climate Projections

The California Current Ecosystem (CCE) is a highly productive eastern boundary upwelling system, in which seasonal upwelling fuels primary production that supports a thriving marine ecosystem and socioeconomically valuable services including fisheries and tourism. The CCE and its resources are strongly driven by changes in the physical and biogeochemical environment, both of which experience considerable variability on timescales ranging from days to centuries. Prognostic information on this variability is therefore highly desirable for marine resource users, for example managers of fisheries whose target populations are sensitive to variations in the climate system. In this presentation, I will present a number of recent and ongoing efforts that have begun to explore the predictability and forecast skill of physical and biogeochemical properties in the CCE on seasonal-to-interannual (~1-24 months), decadal (~5- 20 years) and long-term (~50-100 years) timescales. I will also describe, when known, the physical mechanisms driving predictability in that range of timescales. Skillful forecasts and predictions of the physical and biogeochemical state in the CCE have the potential to provide actionable information to those managing the CC marine resources.

Dr. Mercedes Pozo Buil

Associate Project Scientist, UCSC/NOAA

Dr. Mercedes (Mer) Pozo Buil is a physical oceanographer interested in ocean modelling, climate change, ocean and climate dynamics, and decadal climate variability and its impact on marine ecosystems. She is an Associate Project Scientist at the University of California Santa Cruz in the Institute of Marine Sciences, working at the Ecosystem Science Division of the NOAA Southwest Fisheries Sciences Center in Monterey, California. Mer received two bachelor of science degrees in marine and environmental science, and a master’s degree in physical oceanography from the University of Cadiz in Spain. She holds a doctoral degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology.